HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENTS

Contaminated sites pose a potential risk to people who work on the site or people who work and/or live on neighbouring properties. People can be exposed to contamination by breathing in dust, breathing in gases, touching contaminated soils or water, or drinking contaminated water. Human health risk assessment is the process of estimating the risk to human health posed by contamination in the environment and determining whether that risk is acceptable or not based on internationally accepted norms.

​Services

• Generic risk assessment – Initial human health risk assessment involves establishing whether there are links between the source and the receptors, and then compares measured concentrations to published screening levels. Involves development of conceptual site model, identification of contaminants of concern, identification of potentially complete linkages between source and receptor, selection of appropriate screening criteria, and determining whether receptors are potentially at risk.
• Quantitative risk assessment - Published screening levels are not always appropriate as they are based on numerous assumptions, and in these cases a quantitative site specific human health risk assessment can be undertaken where site specific levels of risk are calculated and compared to acceptable risk levels.